McDavid brings record 14-game point streak to Rangers showdown at MSG
Web StoryWatch this story in 15 seconds →Key takeaways
- Connor McDavid has points in all 14 Oilers games this season. His 37 points lead the NHL. - Edmonton visits the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday at 6 PM ET.
- The Rangers are missing star goalie Igor Shesterkin. They have lost three games in a row.
What happened
The Edmonton Oilers flew to New York for a Sunday showdown with the Rangers. It is the second half of a back-to-back. Edmonton beat the New York Islanders 4-0 on Saturday night.
Connor McDavid had an assist in that win. That assist stretched his season-opening point streak to 14 games, according to NHL. com.
He has 37 points this season. That is 11 more than any other player.
A point streak means he scores a goal or makes an assist in every game. His streak is also an NHL record for season-opening assists, according to The Spread.
The Rangers have problems. Their star goalie, Igor Shesterkin, is out for the rest of the season. He hurt his knee on October 9. Without him, the Rangers have lost three straight games.
They gave up 18 goals in those losses, according to Deadspin.
Why it matters
McDavid is doing something historic. He scored 35 points in October alone. That is one point short of Mario Lemieux's famous October in 1992-93. Only one player ever had more in a single October.
Lemieux himself, with 38 in 1988.
His teammate Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is in awe. "He just finds ways," Nugent-Hopkins said after Saturday's win. "It's been a lot of fun to watch, and I know he's not going to slow down.
" Nugent-Hopkins scored twice in the Islanders game.
The streak is now three games short of McDavid's best ever start. He opened the 2021-22 season with points in 17 straight games. A big game against the Rangers gets him closer.
Edmonton is also perfect on the road. The Oilers are 6-0-0 away from home this season. They have outscored opponents 31-13 in road games.
Deadspin reports they are trying to match the 1983-84 Oilers for the best road start in team history.
Sunday is also special for Nugent-Hopkins. His 1,037th NHL game ties Kevin Lowe for the most games ever played in an Oilers uniform, according to Oilers Nation.
The matchup to watch
The Rangers are dangerous at home even without their goalie. They are 6-1-0 at Madison Square Garden this season. They average 3.14 goals per game.
But their goalie situation is grim. With Shesterkin out, Dylan Garand has struggled. His save percentage sits under 90 percent.
Edmonton scores 4.21 goals per game, the best mark in the league.
Special teams could decide the game. Edmonton's power play converts 33.3 percent of its chances, according to Oilers Nation. The Rangers' penalty kill is strong at 90.5 percent.
Something has to give.
Edmonton has its own injury worry. Forward Isaac Howard left Saturday's game after a knee-on-knee hit from Emil Heineman. Coach Mike Babcock said the injury is not as bad as first feared.
Howard still misses Sunday's game.
Rookie goalie Matt Tomkins gets a surprise start for Edmonton. It is his first NHL start since April 17, 2024, when he played for Tampa Bay. Back-to-back games force coaches to rest their main goalie.
The Rangers shuffled their lines at practice. Pavel Dorofeyev moved up to the top line with Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere. "We're trying to find a way to capture Pav's best game," coach Mike Sullivan told reporters.
What happens next
Puck drop is at 6 PM ET on Sunday. The game airs on NHL Network, MSG, and Sportsnet. For fans in Pakistan, that is 4 AM Monday morning.
Edmonton has dominated this matchup lately. The Oilers are 10-2-2 in the last 14 meetings, according to Deadspin. They are 6-1-0 in their last seven games in New York.
Watch McDavid's assist streak closely. If he extends it to 15, his name goes further up the record books. The Rangers' tired goalie faces the league's most dangerous offense.
That is the story of the night.
The road ahead
This game sits inside a wild Sunday NHL schedule. The Oilers are chasing the [early NHL standings](https://rivenews.
com/sports/nhl-standings-early-season-2026/) lead in the Pacific.
The Rangers play next in early November. A win over Edmonton would stop their slide. A loss makes it four in a row.
Either way, McDavid keeps coming. Defenses across the league have 14 games of proof that nobody has stopped him yet.
For more on how Edmonton looked earlier this month, see our Golden Knights vs Wild recap.
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